Interface systems for providing content using context hotspots

ABSTRACT

The present invention teaches a variety of computer interface methods and systems for providing content to a user through an indirection. One interface system has an encoded physical medium, a sensor, a network device, a routing server, and a content server. The encoded physical medium has at least one indirection hotspot with a content ID encoded therein. The sensor decodes the content ID and then transmits the decoded content ID to a network device. In turn, the network device transmits the decoded content ID over a network to the routing server. The routing server responds to the receipt of the content ID (which is essentially a request for content) by redirecting the request to a given content address corresponding to the given content ID. Additionally, the routing server may log information regarding the content request on a service access log maintained on a computer readable medium. Another aspect of the present invention teaches a method for providing a user content over a computer network such as the Internet. The method requires the steps of receiving at a routing web server a uniform resource locator (URL) identification number (ID) transmitted over the computer network by a web device, determining at the routing web server the URL that corresponds to the URL ID, redirecting the request for content to a content web server identified by the URL, and then providing the web device with the requested content.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims the benefit of van Allen et al.'sprovisional U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 60/061,310, filed Oct. 7,1997, which is incorporated herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] This invention relates generally to computer interfaces. Morespecifically, the present invention discloses a variety of computerinterfaces that provide content by way of indirection. Preferredembodiments use encoded physical mediums including at least one regionhaving an indirection encoded therein. The present invention alsoteaches data-linked physical mediums that provide users intuitive accessto multimedia information that may be stored remotely.

[0003] People are constantly interacting with computerized systems, fromthe trivial (e.g., the computerized toaster or the remote controltelevision) to the exceedingly complex (e.g., telecommunications systemsand the Internet). An advantage of computerization is that such systemsprovide flexibility and power to their users. However, the price thatmust be paid for this power and flexibility is, typically, an increasein the difficulty of the human/machine interface.

[0004] A fundamental reason for this problem is that computers operateon principles based on the abstract concepts of mathematics and logic,while humans tend to think in a more spatial manner. Often people aremore comfortable with physical, three-dimensional objects than they arewith the abstractions of the computer world. In short, the power andflexibility provided by the computer and related electronic technologyare inherently limited by the ability of the human user to control thesedevices. Since people do not think like computers, metaphors are adoptedto permit people to effectively communicate with computers. In general,better metaphors permit more efficient and medium independentcommunications between people and computers. The better metaphor willprovide the user a natural and intuitive interface with the computerwithout sacrificing the computer's potential.

[0005] There are, of course, a number of computer interfaces which allowusers, with varying degrees of comfort and ease, to interact withcomputers. For example, keyboards, computer mice, joysticks, etc. allowusers to physically manipulate a three-dimensional object to create aninput into a computer system. However, these computer interfaces arequite artificial in nature, and tend to require a substantial investmentin training to be used efficiently.

[0006] Progress has been made in improving the computer interface withthe graphical user interface (GUI). With a GUI, icons that representphysical objects are displayed on a computer screen. For example, adocument file may look like a page of a document, a directory file mightlook like a file folder, and an icon of a trash can may be used fordisposing of documents and files. In other words, GUIs use “metaphors”where a graphical icon represents a physical object familiar to users.This makes GUIs easier for most people to use. GUIs were pioneered atsuch places as Xerox PARC of Palo Alto, Calif. and Apple Computer, Inc.of Cupertino, Calif. The GUI is also often commonly used with UNIX™based systems, and is rapidly becoming a standard in the PC/MS-DOS worldwith the Windows™ operating system provided by Microsoft Corporation ofRedmond, Wash.

[0007] While GUIs are a major advance in computer interfaces, theynonetheless present a user with a learning curve due to their stilllimited metaphor. In other words, an icon can only represent a physicalobject; it is not itself a physical object. It would be ideal if thecomputer interface was embodied in a physical medium which could conveya familiar meaning, one perhaps relevant to the task at hand. Whileprogress has been made towards achieving such a goal, many roadblocksyet remain. For example, assuming that for a given application one hasselected a physical medium for use as a computer interface, theinformation necessary to support the computer interface must still beencoded within the physical medium. Additionally, techniques must bedeveloped for linking such interfaces with the vast wealth ofinformation available from remote sources using computer networks likethe Internet.

[0008] Redford et al.'s U.S. Pat. No. 5,634,265, entitled “PRINTEDPUBLICATION REMOTE CONTROL FOR ACCESSING INTERACTIVE MEDIA,” filed Jul.1, 1994, describes one rudimentary mechanism for encoding informationwithin a physical medium. Redford describes the use of a printedpublication such as a book being constructed to include a storage media,a data button, and remote control circuitry. The button is physicallyattached to the printed publication and when activated by a user, datafrom the storage media can initiate local feedback at the printedpublication and the remote control can transmit a control message to aremote computer system which in turn performs some desired operation.

[0009] While strides have been made in attempting to improve computerinterfaces, there is still progress to be made in this field.Ultimately, the interface itself should disappear from the consciousthought of users so that they can intuitively accomplish their goalswithout concern to the mechanics of the interface or the underlyingoperation of the computerized system.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0010] One embodiment of the present invention teaches an interfacesystem for providing content to a user via a computer network. Theinterface system has a routing server that maintains a database storinginformation regarding content addresses and content identificationnumbers (IDs). Each particular content address directs to contentaccessible over the computer network. The routing server responds to thereceipt of a content ID (which is essentially a request for content) byredirecting the request to a given content address corresponding to thegiven content ID. Additionally, the routing server may log informationregarding the content request on a service access log maintained on acomputer readable medium.

[0011] In related embodiments, the interface system provides the user anencoded physical medium and a sensor. The encoded physical mediumincludes an indirection hotspot having a content ID encoded therein. Thesensor is operable to decode the content ID and then transmit thedecoded content ID to a network device. In turn, the network devicetransmits the decoded content ID over the computer network to therouting server.

[0012] In other related embodiments, the interface system also has acontent server coupled with the routing server via the computer network.The content server stores the desired content identified by an entry inthe database. It is contemplated that the content server can providecontent directly to the network device. Alternatively, the contentserver can provide the content to the routing server which can log thetransaction and then forward the content to the network device.

[0013] A separate embodiment of the present invention teaches anotherinterface system for providing content to a user. This interface systemincludes a computer system having a computer readable medium, an encodedphysical medium, and a sensor. The encoded physical medium includes anindirection hotspot having an indirection encoded therein. Theindirection designates a storage location on the computer readablemedium and the storage location provides a computer instructioninitiating the provision of content to the user. The sensor is operableboth to decode the indirection encoded in the indirection hotspot and totransmit the decoded indirection to the computer system.

[0014] In related embodiments, the storage location on the computerreadable medium provides an address to a computer document such as aword processing document, an audio file, a video file, or a graphicsfile. In these cases when the user engages the sensor with theindirection hotspot, the computer responds by invoking an applicationsuitable for accessing the computer document.

[0015] One aspect of the present invention teaches a method forproviding a user content over a computer network such as the Internet.The method requires the steps of receiving at a routing web server auniform resource locator (URL) identification number (ID) transmittedover the computer network by a web device, determining at the routingweb server the URL that corresponds to the URL ID, redirecting therequest for content to a content web server identified by the URL, andthen providing the web device with the requested content.

[0016] A related method involves several steps for generating the URL IDprior to transmission to the routing web server. These include measuringand decoding a hotspot present on an encoded physical medium (thehotspot has the URL ID encoded therein), transmitting the URL ID to theweb device, and transmitting the URL ID from the web device to therouting web server over the computer network. Other possible stepsinclude providing content to the web device either directly or throughthe routing web server, logging each request for content at the routingweb server, and logging each occurrence of content being routed throughthe routing web server.

[0017] The present invention therefore provides a more intuitive andricher metaphor for the interaction between humans and computerizedsystems, yet alleviates some of the encoding scheme demands placed uponthe computer interface. These and other advantages of the presentinvention will become apparent upon reading the following detaileddescriptions and studying the various figures of the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018]FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic illustration of a computer interface inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

[0019]FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating one method for providing aninterface between a user and a computer system in accordance with oneaspect of the present invention.

[0020]FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating one suitable method forproviding a user an encoded physical medium in accordance with anotheraspect of the present invention.

[0021]FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic illustration of a hot spot in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention.

[0022]FIG. 5 illustrates a sensor responsive to a first spectralencoding scheme in accordance with yet another embodiment of the presentinvention.

[0023]FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating one suitable method formeasuring information encoded in a hot spot.

[0024]FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic illustration of a first data linked bookembodiment of the present invention.

[0025]FIG. 8 is a diagrammatic illustration of a data linked globeembodiment of the present invention.

[0026]FIG. 9 is a diagrammatic illustration of an interface system forlinking an encoded hotspot storing a URL ID with a corresponding URL.

[0027]FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a method for providing usercontent indicated by a URL ID from a corresponding URL.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0028] With reference to FIG. 1, a computer interface 10 in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention will now be described. Theinterface 10 includes a sensor 12 and an encoded physical medium 30. Aswill be apparent, the computer interface 10 provides an intuitivemechanism for a user to interface with and control an electronic devicesuch as a computer system 40 (also illustrated in FIG. 1).

[0029] The encoded physical medium 30 has at least one region 32 whereininformation has been encoded. The content of the region 32 may beencoded according to a well known content encoding scheme such as a barcode scheme. The present invention also teaches a variety of newencoding schemes. For example, a content encoding scheme contemplated bythe present invention is a bar code printed using invisible, e.g.infrared (IR), inks. Such a bar code would be apparent to the sensor butinvisible to the user. Alternatively, the content of the region 32 maybe encoded according to a spectral encoding scheme. One specific exampleof a suitable spectral encoding scheme is described below with referenceto FIGS. 4-6. The encoded physical medium 30 may also include a documentidentification (ID) hotspot 33, similar to the region 32. The contentencoded within the document ID hotspot 33 will, however, be special inthat it provides an indication of the identity of the particular encodedphysical medium 30.

[0030] In certain embodiments, encoded regions such as the region 32further include a marker 34 indicating that certain encoded informationis present in the region 32. By way of example, in one spectral encodingscheme, the desired content for the region 32 is represented accordingto different visible and infrared inks (reflective and/orphotoluminescent) applied to the region 32. The marker 34 is representedby yet another infrared ink similarly applied to the region 34. In thisexample, the user would not see the marker 34, but may or may not see avisual representation of the content encoded in the region 32.Throughout the specification, markers, hotspots, regions, inks, etc.,are often described as being able to generate light. Being able to“generate light” is defined herein as including at least one of theability to reflect or emit light.

[0031] The encoded physical medium 30 may take any suitable form. By wayof example, the encoded physical medium 30 may be a page from a physicalbook or magazine, an article of clothing such as a T-shirt, a globe,consumer product packaging, etc. Such encoded physical mediums may havebeen marked and encoded with data for the specific purpose of providingthe interface of the present invention. Alternatively, the encodedphysical medium 30 may simply be items selected from a user'ssurroundings, the encoded information arising randomly orunintentionally (at least with relation to the user's application). Inanother embodiment, the encoded content arises randomly orunintentionally, but a marker 34 is applied intentionally. Somerepresentative examples of encoded physical mediums are described belowwith reference to FIGS. 7-8.

[0032] The sensor 12 includes a sensing element 13, a decoder 14, atransceiver 16, an on/off switch 18, and memory 20. The sensing element13 is arranged to measure information present on the encoded physicalmedium 30. When the utilized encoding scheme implements a marker 34, thedecoder 14 is arranged to determine whether the marker 34 is present inmeasured information, and when the marker 34 is sensed, to decode themeasured information. The transceiver 16 is operable to transmit datasuch as decoded information to the computer system 40. Depending uponthe embodiment, the transceiver 16 may establish either a unidirectionalor bi-directional communications link 22 between the interface 10 andthe computer system 40. The communications link 22 is preferably awireless communications link such as one based upon infrared (IR),radio-frequency (RF), or ultrasonic communications technology. However,the communications link 22 may take the form of a wired communicationslink such as a serial RS-232 or RS-485 data cable, or a parallel datacable.

[0033] In some embodiments, the sensor 12 operates by measuringinformation selected from the encoded physical medium 30 by the user,decoding as necessary, and then transmitting the decoded information tothe computer system 40 for further processing. In other embodiments, thesensor 12 includes further hardware for processing the measuredinformation locally. For example, the sensor 12 may include amicrocontroller such as a PIC microcontroller programmed to process themeasured information. The decoder 14 may be part of the microcontroller,or may be separate circuitry. In some embodiments, the sensor 12maintains in the memory 20 a database related to the measuredinformation. The information stored in the database may be used locallyat the sensor and/or saved for subsequent transmission.

[0034] The computer system 40 appears in FIG. 1 as a personal desktopcomputer. However, it is contemplated that the interface 10 is suitablefor use with a wide scope of electronic devices. The wide scope ofsuitable computer systems encompasses all types of personal computers,interactive TV systems, set-top boxes, web interfaces, hapticinterfaces, streaming music and video sources, and many others. Oneparticular example is a WebTV “net-top box.” Further, although theinterface 10 is intended to be representative of and thus generic to abroad range of interfaces contemplated by the present invention, it willbe appreciated that computer interfaces of the present invention maytake many forms which go beyond the example interface 10 of FIG. 1.

[0035] With reference to FIG. 2, a method 100 for providing an interfacebetween a user and a computer system in accordance with one aspect ofthe present invention will now be described. An initial step 102provides the user with an encoded physical medium 30 and a sensor 12suitable for sensing information present within the encoded physicalmedium 30. As described above, the encoded physical medium 30 may takeany suitable form. One suitable method for performing the step 102 isdescribed in more detail below with reference to FIG. 3.

[0036] In a next step 104, the user explores the encoded physical medium30 and selects a desired portion 32 of the encoded physical medium 30.The user may be drawn into the desired portion 32 through text,coloring, or graphics illustrated on the desired portion 32. The text,coloring or graphics illustrated on the desired portion 32 may representthe encoded information, may be in addition to the encoded information,or may be some suitable combination of illustration and encodedinformation. Instead of being drawn in, perhaps in the case of a game orwork task, the user may be selecting the desired portion 32 based uponsome predefined criteria. For example, the user may be searching for aclue to a puzzle game, or simply doing inventory and selecting a barcode found on a product during this process. In any event, once the userhas selected the desired portion 32 in step 104, in a step 106 the userengages the sensor 12 with the desired portion 32 of the encodedphysical medium 30. The sensor engagement of step 106 will typicallyinvolve the user setting the sensor 12 to an ON state that indicatesthat the sensor 12 should be in operation. In the case of the interface10 of FIG. 1, the step 106 would involve operation of the on/off switch18. Depending upon the particular sensor and the application, sensorengagement may require the user to bring the sensor 12 into closeproximity to or in contact with the desired region 32.

[0037] In a next step 108, the sensor 12 measures information presentwithin the desired region 32 of the encoded physical medium 30.Information is defined herein as any data that the sensor 12 is capableof measuring. Thus, the information measured by the sensor 12 is notlimited to information that has been purposefully encoded into thedesired region 32 of the encoded physical medium 30.

[0038] A step 110 then determines whether the measured information hasnull meaning. When step 110 determines that the measured information hasnull meaning, it is simply determining that the measured information hasnot been marked, for the present purposes, as containing encodedinformation. However, as will be appreciated, a determination of nullmeaning may be consequential. Accordingly, when step 110 determines thatthe measured information has null meaning, a step 112 performs anyaction indicated by such a determination. For example, the sensor 12 maybe equipped with a light that blinks or a buzzer that sounds when themeasured information has null meaning. As another example, the sensor 12may have memory 20 that is utilized to keep track of the meaning of thedifferent measured regions, including each null determination.Alternatively, the null information may be transmitted to the computersystem 40. In any event, once step 112 is complete, the control of themethod 100 is passed back to step 104 allowing the user to explorefurther and select another region 32 for sensing.

[0039] When it is determined in step 110 that the information measuredin step 108 does not have null meaning (e.g., the measured informationhas been marked as containing encoded information), control is passed toa step 114 wherein the sensor 12 interprets the measured information.Depending upon the specific application, step 114 may involve justdecoding of the information from the particular encoding scheme into adata format suitable for transmission by the transceiver 16. However, insome embodiments significant processing of the measured information willoccur locally at the sensor 12. Thus in a next step 116, the sensor 12performs an operation that is a function of both the informationinterpreted in the step 114 and the context in which the information wasmeasured. Note that context depends upon the particular application andmay include the nature of previously interpreted information, the timingof the user's engagement of the sensor 12, information received at thesensor from the computer system 40, etc.

[0040] For example, with each new engagement of the sensor 12, thesensor 12 may store the interpreted information in a database in thememory 20 and then evaluate the database or a portion of it to determinewhether a predefined condition has been satisfied. A predefinedcondition could be the user gathering a set number of clues or datapoints, at which point the sensor transmits all or some of the storedinformation to the computer system 40. In one specific example, the usermay be perusing an encoded catalog magazine 30 with a hand-held wandsensor 12. As the user engages the wand sensor 12 with regions of thecatalog 30 representing desired products, these regions are sensed andthe information therein interpreted by the wand sensor 12. Whenfinished, the user may select an order region 32 indicating to thesensor that the user is ready to order and purchase the selected items.At this point, the communication link 22 could be established with thecomputer system 40, which may be local or remote, and the user's orderinformation could be transmitted to the computer system 40 which in turncould process the order or further transmit the order as necessary.

[0041] In other embodiments, the indicated action of step 116 includesthe computer system 40 and/or the sensor 12 responding to the measuredinformation by providing feedback. The feedback could take any suitableform such as audio, visual or tactile feedback. In any event, once theindicated action has been performed in the step 116, the control of themethod 100 is passed back to step 104 allowing the user to furtherexplore the encoded physical medium 30 and select other regions forsensing.

[0042] As noted above with reference to FIG. 1, certain encoded physicalmediums 30 include a document ID hot spot 33. In these embodiments, whena user first begins exploring the encoded physical medium 30 asdescribed in step 104, the initial step 106 ought to be the engagementof the sensor 12 with the document ID hot spot 33. Then in steps114-116, the sensor 12 could store the document ID for later use, orimmediately transmit it to the computer system, or both; it depends uponthe specific application. For example, it is contemplated that thesensor 12 store the document ID and include it with content decoded fromeach subsequently measured region prior to further processing of thedecoded content.

[0043] Further, certain encoding schemes may not require the use of amarker. Within these schemes, steps 110 and 112 of FIG. 2 would becomeunnecessary, and thus another method for providing an interface using anencoding scheme without a marker could be implemented by simply skippingdirectly from step 108 to step 114 of FIG. 2.

[0044] Turning next to FIG. 3, a method 102 for providing a user anencoded physical medium 30 in accordance with another aspect of thepresent invention will be described. In a first step 200, the designercreates a representation of a physical medium 30 that will include hotspots. A “hot spot” is defined as a particular region wherein content isencoded, and may include text and/or graphics. The encoded content ofthe hot spot can take any of a variety of forms, dependent upon suchthings as the encoding scheme and the goals of the designer. Forexample, the encoding scheme may be such that the encoded contentvisually blends together with any text and graphics generated by thedesigner. Alternatively, the encoding scheme may result in the encodedcontent being visually distinctive or completely hidden from the viewer.The representation of the physical medium 30 may be created within anoff-the-shelf or custom made design software system, or therepresentation may be a physical model. In a step 202, the designerdefines the content of the hot spots. Alternatively, the designer may beprovided with the content. The content of a hot spot is the informationto be encoded therein, and may include computer instructions, a uniformresource locator (URL), and other data.

[0045] In a subsequent step 204, the content of each hot spot is encodedaccording to a particular encoding scheme. Preferably, the encoding willbe automated such that the designer will simply enter the desiredcontent and initiate the encoding process, which is in turn performed bya computer system or some other suitably programmed tool. In someembodiments, the encoding process will also introduce a marker into theencoded content indicating that certain information is encoded in thehot spots. Once the content is encoded, in a step 206 the encodedcontent is inserted into the appropriate locations within therepresentation of the physical medium 30. In a step 208, the encodedphysical medium 30 is generated from its representation. For example,when the representation is created by a system such as graphic designsoftware and the encoding scheme is a spectral encoding scheme, aprinter utilizing the necessary inks can print out the encoded physicalmedium 30.

[0046] With reference to FIGS. 4-6, a first spectral encoding schemeaccording to another embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed. The first spectral encoding scheme represents content viathree different values encoded within a hot spot 220. The sensor“decodes” these values by measuring the intensities of three differentencoding colors C1, C2, and C3 found within the hot spot 220. C1, C2,and C3 may, for example, correspond to red, green, and blue (RGB).Alternatively, C1, C2, and C3 may be selected from outside the visiblelight range (e.g., infrared colors) or may be a combination of visibleand invisible colors.

[0047] As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the hot spot 220itself can be created using inks whose colors do not correspond directlyto C1, C2, and C3. Take the instance where C1, C2, and C3 correspond toRGB. Most likely, the color printing system selected to produce the hotspot 220 will be a “CMYK” type using cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y),and black (K) inks to produce color images. In such a case, the encodedmedium designer may be provided a mapping between CMYK space and thedifferent content values, even though the sensor will be determiningeach content value by measuring the intensities of the three differentencoding colors RGB within the hot spot 220.

[0048]FIG. 4 represents diagrammatically a hot spot 220 encodedaccording to the first spectral encoding scheme. A pie chart 222indicates that the different encoding colors C1, C2, and C3 aremeasurable in the hot spot 220, each taking on their own particularintensity. Thus the engaged sensor would measure three different values,one each for C1, C2, and C3. These values taken together provide theencoded content. FIG. 4 does not illustrate the visual appearance a hotspot would likely take on, but merely represents that the differentencoding colors are measurable within the hot spot 220. Of course,depending upon the content encoded therein, each hot spot will havevarying intensity levels and in some instances the intensity level ofcertain encoding colors would be zero. The actual visual appearance ofthe hot spot 220 would include any text and/or graphical illustrationsthat the designer has created.

[0049]FIG. 5 illustrates a sensor 300 responsive to the first spectralencoding scheme and thus operable to measure information from an encodedphysical medium 30. The sensor 300 includes a light emitter 302, asensing element 304, and a shroud 306. The light emitter 302 includesthree light emitting diodes LED1, LED2, and LED3, each operable to emitlight corresponding to C1, C2, and C3, respectively. The sensing element304 is a broadband sensing element responsive to the entire lightspectrum. A user engages the sensor 300 with a desired region 32 of theencoded physical medium 30 by turning the sensor 300 on and bringing thelight emitter 302 and the sensing element 304 into reasonably closeproximity to the desired region 32. When the sensor 300 is properlyengaged with the desired region 32, the shroud 306 helps prevent thesensing element 304 from measuring extraneous information in the form ofambient light.

[0050] With reference to FIG. 6, one suitable method 108 for measuringthe information stored within the desired region 32 will now bedescribed. Simply put, the method 108 of FIG. 6 sequences throughmeasuring the intensities of the encoding colors C1, C2, and C3. In afirst step 320, the user engages the sensor 300 with the desired region32. A step 322 turns LED1 on, measures the reflected intensity of C1,and then turns LED1 off. A step 324 turns LED2 on, measures thereflected intensity of C2, and then turns LED2 off. A step 326 turnsLED3 on, measures the reflected intensity of C3, and then turns LED3off. Typically the sensing element 304 will generate an analog voltageproportional to the light intensity and the sensor 300 will include ananalog-to-digital (AID) converter. Thus the number of contentidentification numbers available with the first encoding scheme isdirectly dependent upon the precision of the A/D converter.

[0051] Additional encoding schemes are described in Dougherty et al.'scopending U.S. patent application Ser. No. (Attorney Docket No.INT1P007), entitled “Methods and Systems for Providing Human/ComputerInterfaces,” which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0052] Turning next to FIG. 7, a data linked book 350 in accordance withone embodiment of the present invention will now be described. A primarypurpose of the linked book 350 is to link a physical book with data suchas video and audio streams available via an information network such asthe Internet. The linked data is then presented (e.g., displayed,played, etc.) on an Internet device such as a WebTV or a personalcomputer.

[0053] The linked book 350 includes a physical book 352, a sensor 353having an infrared transmitter 354, a plurality of pages such as page356 and a plurality of hot spots such as hot spots 358, 360, and 362.The physical book 352 appears conventional to a viewer in that the book352 flips open to the different pages, each of which provide meaningfulinformation in the form of text and graphics. In the example of FIG. 7,the physical book 352 is opened to the page 356 entitled “WeatherReport.” Thus the user should immediately realize that the WeatherReport page 356 is electronically linked to weather report informationavailable over the corresponding information network. In the embodimentof FIG. 7, each of the hot spots represents a uniform resource locator(URL). As will be appreciated, a URL is the addressing mechanism used bythe Internet to correspond to a unique Internet address. A URL, togetherwith any other desired information, is encoded within each hot spotaccording to a selected encoding scheme such as a spectral encoding orbar code scheme.

[0054] When the user engages the sensor 353 with a desired hot spot, thesensor 353 decodes the content of the hot spot, performs any necessaryinterpretation and other local functions, and then transmits the URL tothe computer system 370. The computer system 370 then uses the URL andother received information to download the desired data from theInternet, presenting such data to the user in the proper form. Forexample, a video stream may be displayed on the computer screen of thecomputer system 370.

[0055] Turning next to FIG. 8, a data linked globe 400 in accordancewith yet another embodiment of the present invention will now bedescribed. The data linked globe 400 includes both a sensor 402 havingan infrared transmitter 404 and a plurality of hot spots 406. The datalinked globe 400 of FIG. 8 presents a spherical earth map. Encodedwithin the hot spots 406 are linking data. The linking data of FIG. 8may take any of a variety of suitable forms. For example, similar to thedata linked book of FIG. 8, the linking data may include a URL. Each hotspot may represent a town, region, province, country, etc. Theassociated URL may direct the computer system 420 to an Internet WorldWide Web page produced, e.g., by the Chamber of Commerce for that town,region, etc.

[0056] In an alternative embodiment, the computer system 420 of FIG. 8maintains a database of geographical and/or historical data regardingthe region represented by the hot spot. The linking data would theninstruct the computer system 420 to present the correspondinginformation through the appropriate media interface, e.g., audio andvideo. In yet another embodiment, the linking data stored in each hotspot would contain the bulk of the content, the sensor 402 simplytransferring this content to the computer system 420 which would in turnpresent this information through the appropriate media interface.

[0057] As will be appreciated, any encoding scheme (including thosedescribed above) will have some practical upper limit on the quantity ofdata that may be encoded upon a physical medium. Accordingly, certaincomputer interface applications may require more data storage capabilitythan is reasonably possible from known encoding schemes. For example,only a fraction of the available URLs could be encoded utilizing astandard bar code scheme. However, it would be exceedingly useful toimplement a computer interface such as the data-linked book 350described above yet somehow get beyond the limitation imposed by theselected encoding scheme.

[0058] To address this problem, certain embodiments of the presentinvention teach encoding an indirection in a hot spot rather thanencoding the actual content or the direct address of the actual contentin the hot spot. As will be appreciated, an indirection is an addressthat designates the storage location of an item of data to be treated asthe address of an operand, but not necessarily as its direct address. Byway of example, reconsider FIG. 8. The content encoded within a hot spot406 on the data linked globe 400 may be an address of a given wordprocessing document stored on the computer system 420. Engaging thesensor 402 with the hot spot 406 would then result in starting up theappropriate word processor with the given word processing document. Moregenerally, the content encoded within the hot spot 406 can be theaddress of a computer document stored on the computer system 420. Thecomputer document could take any suitable form such as a graphics file,an audio file, a video file, or a word processing document. Then,engaging the sensor 402 with the hot spot 406 would invoke a suitableapplication for utilizing or accessing the computer document.Additionally, the suitable application may execute directly on thecomputer system 420, or remotely across a computer network coupled withthe computer system. As will be appreciated, encoding an indirectionwithin the hot spots greatly expands the amount of data which can beaccessed using the present invention.

[0059] Turning next to FIG. 9, an interface system 500 for linking ahotspot identification (ID) to a particular URL in accordance with yetanother embodiment of the present invention will be described. Theinterface system 500 enables greater capability by storing at a linkingweb server hotspot IDs mapped to corresponding URLs. Thus, each hotspotneed only have a URL ID encoded therein, and the routing web service canlink each request to the proper content web server. This enables ahotspot to indirect to a URL (or any other resource address) than cannotsuitably be stored by the particular encoding scheme, yet can besuitably identified by a URL ID.

[0060] To accomplish this, the interface system 500 includes an encodedphysical medium 510, a wand sensor 512, a web device 514, a routing webserver 516, at least one other web server such as a content web server518, and a computer network 520 such as the Internet. The encodedphysical medium 510 includes a plurality of hotspots 530. Each hotspot530 has certain information encoded therein including a particular URLID. The sensor 512 is operable to decode the certain information presentin each hotspot 530 and transmit the decoded certain information to theweb device 514. The web device 514 in turn is operable to forward theparticular URL ID to the routing web server 516 of the computer network520. The location or URL of the routing web server 516 may be encoded inthe hotspot 530, added into the decoded certain information by the wandsensor 512 prior to transmission to the web device, or provided by theweb device 514. As will be appreciated, the web device 514 may be anysuitable mechanism such as a set-top web device, a personal computer,etc.

[0061] The routing web server 516 includes a computer readable medium540 wherein the routing web server 516 maintains a web page database 542and a service access log 544. The web page database 542 provides acorrespondence between the various URL IDs and the “real” content webpages such as content web pages 550 found on the content web server 518.Within the service access log 544 the routing web server 516 logs everywand sensor access. The information in the service access log 544 can beutilized for billing, developing customer data, etc.

[0062] With reference to FIG. 10, a method 600 for linking the user withthe proper URL will now be described. In an initial step 602, the wandsensor 512 decodes the certain encoded information measured from aselected hotspot 530. In a next step 604, the wand sensor 604 performsany translation of the certain decoded data necessary and transmits thetranslated data to the web device 514. The translation may involve,e.g., attaching the URL of the routing web server 516 to a decoded URLID and marshaling the certain decoded data into a format suitable fortransmission.

[0063] Once the web device 514 receives the URL ID, in a step 606 theweb device 514 transmits the URL ID over the Internet to the routing webserver 516. The transmission step 606 is essentially a request forcontent. Upon receipt of the URL ID, in a step 608 the routing webserver 516 logs the access within the service access log 544 for lateror immediate use in performing billing, tracking, etc. Then in a step610, the routing web server 516 utilizes the web page database 542 toredirect the web device's content request to the corresponding web pageprovided by the content web server 518. In response, in a step 612, thecontent web server 518 provides the indicated content to the web device514. The indicated content may be provided to the web device 514directly over the Internet, or may be redirected through the routing webserver 516 for additional tracking, etc.

[0064] As will be appreciated, the interface system 500 of FIG. 9 is notlimited to the particular Internet application described above. Forexample, those skilled in the art will understand that the principlesdescribed above are well suited for use in providing content over avariety of different network formats; particularly they are not limitedto web pages and the Internet. Hence, in more general terms, it iscontemplated that the interface system 500 has a network device (insteadof a web device), a routing server (instead of a routing web server),and a content server (instead of a content web server). Additionally,the interface system 500 may be designed such that the web device 514has the databases necessary for interpreting content requests anddirectly forwarding them to the content server. In such an embodiment,the routing server would not be necessary.

[0065] While this invention has been described in terms of severalpreferred embodiments and a number of specific examples, there arealterations, permutations, and equivalents which fall within the scopeof this invention.

[0066] As will be appreciated, the variety of physical medium upon whichcontent may be encoded according to the present invention is almostlimitless, ranging from toys to tools to industrial parts and beyond.Still further, the hot spots may be encoded regions displayed upon acomputer monitor, television screen, or the like.

[0067] Likewise, the nature of content that may be encoded in the hotspots is unconstrained. The content may be abstract or concrete. Aconcrete example arises in the case of industrial parts where theencoding could be both machine and human readable and geared towardsassisting in an automated training system. Under the training system,the worker checks the code on the part to determine the correct assemblyorder or obtain other information about the part. Thus, with training,the worker would need to use the sensor only when she encounters a codethat she is unfamiliar with.

[0068] In certain applications, the nature of the content encoded withindifferent hotspots varies. For example, a particular encoded physicalmedium may have a plurality of different types of hotspots such asindirection hotspots, direct content hotspots, and a document IDhotspot. Indirection hotspots have indirections encoded therein and thusonce decoded, a mapping from the indirection to the desired content mustbe performed. Direct content hotspots are encoded with either directaddresses of the desired content or the desired content itself. Thedocument ID hotspot provides an indication of the identity of theencoded physical medium.

[0069] It is further contemplated that the sensor may take manydifferent forms. For example, rather than a wand or portable sensingdevice, the sensor may be a stationary device where the encoded objectis passed under or near the stationary sensor in order to causeengagement.

[0070] Therefore it is desired that the appended claims be interpretedas including all such alterations, permutations, and equivalents as fallwithin the true spirit and scope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. An interface system for providing content to auser via a computer network, the interface system comprising a routingserver, the routing server including a computer readable medium having adatabase maintained by the routing server, the database storing entrieseach comprising a content address and a content identification number(ID), each content ID corresponding to a particular content address,each particular content address directing to a particular contentaccessible over the computer network, wherein the routing serverresponds to a request for content in the form of a given content ID byredirecting the request for content to a given content addresscorresponding to the given content ID.
 2. An interface system as recitedin claim 1 wherein the computer readable medium further has a serviceaccess log maintained by the routing server, the service access logstoring information regarding content requests.
 3. An interface systemas recited in claim 1 further comprising: an encoded physical mediumincluding an indirection hotspot having a content ID encoded therein;and a sensor operable for decoding the content ID encoded within theindirection hotspot
 4. An interface system as recited in claim 3 whereinthe sensor is operable to transmit the decoded content ID, the interfacesystem further comprising a network device capable of receiving thedecoded content ID and transmitting the decoded content ID over thecomputer network to the routing server.
 5. An interface system asrecited in claim 4 wherein the computer network includes the Internet,an entry in the database corresponds to a web page, and the entry'scontent address includes a uniform resource locator (URL) for the webpage.
 6. An interface system as recited in claim 4 further comprising acontent server coupled with the routing server via the computer network,the content server storing content identified by an entry in thedatabase, the content server operable to provide content to the networkdevice.
 7. An interface system as recited in claim 3 wherein the encodedphysical medium further includes a document identification hotspothaving an indication of identity for the encoded physical medium encodedtherein, the sensor operable for decoding the indication of identity forthe encoded physical medium.
 8. An interface system as recited in claim3 wherein the indirection hotspot is one of a plurality of indirectionhotspots formed on the encoded physical medium.
 9. An interface systemas recited in claim 3 wherein the indirection hotspot is one of aplurality of hotspots formed on the encoded physical medium, and atleast one of the plurality of hotspots has information other than acontent ID encoded therein.
 10. An interface system as recited in claim3 wherein the encoded physical medium includes at least one page havingtext and graphics.
 11. An interface system as recited in claim 3 whereinthe encoded physical medium is a spherical object.
 12. An interfacesystem as recited in claim 3 wherein the encoded physical medium is anarticle of apparel.
 13. An interface system as recited in claim 3wherein the encoded physical medium is packaging material.
 14. Aninterface system as recited in claim 1 further including a contentserver coupled with the routing server via the computer network, thecontent server storing content identified by an entry in the database,the content server operable to provide content to the network device.15. An interface system as recited in claim 1 wherein an entry in thedatabase corresponds to a web page, the entry's content addressincluding a uniform resource locator (URL) for the web page.
 16. Aninterface system for providing content to a user, the interface systemcomprising: a computer system having a computer readable medium; anencoded physical medium including an indirection hotspot having anindirection encoded therein, the indirection designating a storagelocation on the computer readable medium, the storage location providinga computer instruction initiating the providing of content to the user;a sensor operable to decode the indirection encoded in the indirectionhotspot, the sensor further operable to transmit the decoded indirectionto the computer system.
 17. An interface system as recited in claim 16wherein the storage location on the computer readable medium provides anaddress to a computer document.
 18. An interface system as recited inclaim 17 wherein when the user engages the sensor with the indirectionhotspot, the computer responds by invoking an application suitable foraccessing the computer document.
 19. An interface system as recited inclaim 18 wherein the application is executed on the computer system. 20.An interface system as recited in claim 18 wherein the computer documentis a word processing document and the application is a word processorsuitable for viewing the word processing document.
 21. An interfacesystem as recited in claim 17 wherein the computer document is agraphics file and the application is suitable for displaying thegraphics file to the user.
 22. An interface system as recited in claim17 wherein the computer document is an audio file and the application isoperable to play the audio file thereby providing audio feedback to theuser.
 23. An interface system as recited in claim 17 wherein thecomputer document is an video file and the application is operable toplay the video file thereby providing visual feedback to the user.
 24. Amethod for providing a user content over a computer network, the methodcomprising the steps of: a) receiving at a routing web server a uniformresource locator (URL) identification number (ID) transmitted over thecomputer network by a web device, the receipt of the URL ID constitutingreceipt of a request for content available at a URL corresponding to theURL ID; b) determining at the routing web server the URL thatcorresponds to the URL ID; c) redirecting the request for content to acontent web server identified by the URL; and d) providing the webdevice with the requested content.
 25. A method for providing a usercontent as recited in claim 24, the method further comprising thefollowing steps performed prior to steps a)-d): measuring and decoding ahotspot present on an encoded physical medium, the hotspot having theURL ID encoded therein; transmitting the URL ID to the web device; andtransmitting the URL ID from the web device to the routing web serverover the computer network;
 26. A method as recited in claim 24 whereinthe step of determining at the routing web server the identity of theURL that corresponds to the URL ID includes the substep of searching forthe URL ID entry in a database stored on the routing web server.
 27. Amethod as recited in claim 24 wherein the step of providing the webdevice with the requested content includes the substep of transmittingthe content directly from the content web server to the web device. 28.A method as recited in claim 24 wherein the step of providing the webdevice with the requested content includes the substep of transmittingthe content indirectly from the content web server to the web device byrouting the content through the routing web server.
 29. A method asrecited in claim 24 further comprising the step of logging each requestfor content at the routing web server.
 30. A method as recited in claim28 further comprising the step of logging each request for content atthe routing web server.
 31. A method as recited in claim 28 furthercomprising the step of logging each occurrence of content being routedthrough the routing web server.